…there’s a fascinating new concept we’d like to introduce to you called “SHOWING RESPECT.”

Sure, it may be the American way (excluding, of course, the precedent of other leaders–including Nixon and Eisenhower–that have observed different social norms while visiting other countries) to roll up to every other nation in the world, hike up our Levi’s, and yell loudly in American English (we’re not learning anybody’s funky language!): IT’S OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY, ‘CUZ WE’RE THE GREATEST MUTHAFUCKIN’ COUNTRY IN THE WORLD! WE DON’T HAVE TO PRODUCE ANYTHING, WE DON’T NEED TO PROVE ANYTHING! REMEMBER THE OLDEN DAYS WHEN WE DEFINED “SUPERPOWER?” WELL, DON’T YOU FUCKIN’ FORGET ‘EM! WE’RE BIG AND STRONG AND DON’T NEED TO GET ALONG, SO EVERYBODY BETTER JUST GET USED TO IT!

Problem is, the only people still buying that shit live in America.

Enough already. Let’s stop debating about this nonsense and y’all can get back to protesting global warming and evolution or whatever it was you were doing before.

By acting high and mighty, past presidents wanted to show and affirm US superiority. However, wasn’t this type of stance that got the US into trouble diplomatically with the world? By bowing, President Obama, a symbol of the US and a superpower, showed grace, humility, and respect for Japanese culture. In turn, perhaps this has changed the Japanese perception of the US.

>By acting high and mighty, past presidents wanted to show and affirm US superiority.

Not true. Americans are not supposed to bow to a monarch, not just the president. Now I can understand bowing in Japan, since that’s what they do to each other, but in that case he should have bowed not just to the Emperor. Furthermore, he bowed to the King Abdullah (though all of our presidents metaphorically bow to the Saudis). It is not a respect thing. It is un-American to show submission to a king of any sort. Should an American Sikh remove his turban when the national anthem plays because it’s our custom? No, and no American, president or otherwise, should bow to a monarch.